Nowhere are the divisions of race, ethnicity and culture more sharply drawn that
in the health of the people in the United States. Despite recent progress in
overall national health, there are continuing disparities in the incidence of
illness and death among African Americans, Latino/Hispanic Americans, Native
Americans, Asian Americans, Alaskan Natives and Pacific Islanders as compared
with the US population as a whole.

In recognition of these continuing disparities, the President of the United States
has targeted six areas of health status and committed resources to address:

Cancer

Research shows, in general, that people of diverse racial,
ethnic and cultural heritage are less likely to get regular
medical checkups, receive immunizations, and be routinely
tested for cancer, when compared with the majority U.S. population.

Cancer deaths are disproportionately high among Latino/Hispanic
Americans and African Americans.

Vietnamese women are five times more likely to have
cervical cancer and Chinese Americans five times more
likely to have liver cancer.

Cardiovascular disease

Disparities exist in the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular
disease (coronary heart disease and stroke). Racial and ethnic
groups have higher rates of hypertension, tend to develop
hypertension at an earlier age and are less likely to undergo
treatment to control their high blood pressure.

Mexican-American men and women have elevated blood
pressure rates.

Obesity continues to be higher for African American
and Mexican-American women.

Only 50 percent of Native Americans, 44 percent of
Asian Americans and 38 percent of Mexican Americans have
had their cholesterol checked within the past two years.

Coronary heart disease mortality is higher for African
Americans

Stroke is the only leading cause of death for which
mortality is higher for Asian-American males.

Infant
mortality

Current studies document that despite recent advances,
African American and Native American babies still die at a rate
that
is two to three times higher than the rate for white
American babies.

Statistics
reveal that among Native Americans and Alaskan Natives, the
incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Other Infant
Death (SUID) is more than three to four times the
rate for white American babies.

While the overall infant mortality rate has declined,
the gap between black and white infant mortality rates
has widened.

Diabetes

Studies indicate that diabetes is the seventh leading cause
of death in the United States. Approximately 16
million people in the US have diabetes.

African
Americans are 1.7 times more likely, Latino/Hispanic Americans
are 2.0 times more likely, and Alaskan Natives
and Native Americans are 2.8 times
more likely to have diabetes than whites.

The Pima Tribe of Arizona has the highest known prevalence
of diabetes of any population in the world.

Native Americans and African Americans have higher
rates of diabetes related complications such as kidney
disease and amputation as compared to the total population.

HIV/AIDS

Recent data from prevalence surveys and from HIV/AIDS case
surveillance continue to reflect the disproportionate
impact of the epidemic on racially, ethnically and linguistically
diverse groups, especially, women, youth and
children.

African Americans and Hispanic/ Latino groups accounted
for 47 and 20 percent, respectively, of persons diagnosed
with AIDS in 1997.

Among African Americans, 56 percent of new HIV infections
and AIDS cases are a result of intravenous drug usage;
for Hispanic/Latino groups, 20 percent of new HIV infections
and AIDS cases result from intravenous drug use.

Seventy-five percent of HIV/AIDS cases reported among
women and children occur among diverse racial and ethnic
groups.

Child and Adult Immunizations

Statistics from the President's Initiative on Race reveal
that for the most critical childhood vaccines, vaccination
levels for preschool children of all racial and ethnic groups
are about the same. However, immunization levels for school
age children and elder adults of diverse racial and ethnic
backgrounds continue to lag when compared to the overall vaccination
rates of the general U.S. population.

While 79 percent of white preschoolers are fully immunized
by two years of age, only 74 percent of African American
and 71 percent of Hispanic/Latino children, including preschoolers
and school-aged children, are fully vaccinated against
childhood diseases.

Among the elderly, there is a disproportionate amount
of vaccine preventable diseases in racial, ethnic and underserved
populations.

Although the reasons for these disturbing gaps are not well
understood, it appears that disproportionate poverty, discrimination
in the delivery of health services and the failure of health
care organizations and programs to provide culturally competent
health care to diverse racial, ethnic and cultural populations
are all contributing factors.